If You're Not Sure How to Treat a Transgender Woman, Try Respect

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Everyone has heard by now that National Review contributor Kevin D. Williamson published a transphobic, insulting, almost unreadable article about Laverne Cox and the transgender rights movement as a whole, titled "Laverne Cox Is Not a Woman," which was then picked up by the Chicago Sun-Times. I can't imagine the thought process that went into publishing and republishing this piece — although the Sun-Times, in a belated display of good judgment, took down the link Tuesday and issued an apology — but Williamson's intentions are clear: He insists that transgender people are "delusional" and "antirational" and that only birth sex (and, apparently, he himself) has the power to determine a person's gender.

For evidence, Williamson turns to "biological facts," but never delves into what precisely those facts are. Indeed, he ignores the wealth of scientific evidence supporting the validity of trans identities and the importance — often life-saving — of sex reassignment surgery. Williamson espouses "rationality" as his reason for rejecting trans people's authority on their own experiences. But in any reasonable cost-benefit analysis, the up sides of respecting trans people's gender identities outweigh the downsides — which are, in their entirety, "sometimes you have to correct the names and pronouns you use and feel a little awkward about it" — by about a thousandfold.

Williamson's odd use of passive voice — "we are expected to defer to all subjective experience in the matter of gender identity" — seems to suggest that there is some invisible but omnipotent trans rights cabal, against which he is the lone voice of reason. This idea would be laughable if it weren't so dangerous. In actual fact, trans people are profoundly disempowered, disproportionately likely to lose their jobs, be unemployed, be homeless, be victims of violence, and commit suicide. Dismissing their very existence as a "delusion" makes it much easier to ignore these horrifying statistics rather than working to correct them. Williamson disingenuously claims that stories like Cox's "demand our sympathy," but sympathy without support helps no one.

While civil rights for LGBT people have gained dramatic ground over the last decade, trans people — the T in that abbreviation — are frequently glossed over in both the movement and the mainstream. All too often, coverage of LGBT issues barely extends beyond same-sex marriage, while threats to the safety and well-being of trans people are considered "niche" or "divisive." It's heartening to see recognition for trans lives and issues gaining traction through the achievements of people like Cox, Janet Mock, and Carmen Carrera, but we're far from achieving the utopia of equality and correct pronoun usage that Williamson fears.

Laverne Cox, with her breakout role on Orange Is the New Black and her TIME cover story, is not living the average trans woman of color's experience; instead, she is a very talented and inspiring exception. As Cox points out on Twitter, there are other trans women — like Connecticut's Jane Doe, a 16-year-old Latina trans girl, who has been incarcerated for two months in an adult prison without being charged with a crime, and Arizona's Monica Jones, a trans woman convicted of "manifesting prostitution" for accepting a ride from two undercover cops — who need and deserve support just as much as she does. But, due in large part to still-widespread beliefs about trans people being sick or delusional, the number who have access to the resources, health care, and plain human sympathy they need is still unacceptably low.

Williamson's article and its ilk are not bold attempts to stand up for "reality." They are attempts to redefine or wave away an aspect of reality that the author finds confusing, distasteful, or scary. Respecting the gender identities of trans people is crucial to improving their health, safety, and legal status, and it hurts no one. That's reality. There's nothing more rational than treating your fellow human beings with respect — and nothing more delusional than thinking your opinion matters more than other people's lives.